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Charred Wood in Compost?

Posted by realyrosey none (My Page) on
Mon, Jun 18, 12 at 11:39

Hi there. (I mistakenly posted this as a followup in the wood ash thread.)

I've been looking around for an answer to this question to no avail and this is as close to the topic as I've found. I use a smoker box when I grill and was wondering if the charred wood can be added to my compost. We're not talking a ton of it since I don't have that much time to grill. Maybe the amount of one small smoke box a week. Thanks.


Follow-Up Postings:

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RE: Charred Wood in Compost?

  • Posted by corrine1 7b Pacific Northwest (My Page) on
    Mon, Jun 18, 12 at 16:51

I wouldn't see why not if it's just wood. The smaller the chunks the faster it decomposes.

I don't know the size of the compost bin or pile nor the size of the smoke box. As long as you have nitrogen rich greens it will work on the wood a brown or carbon material.

If you screen the compost before using it any chunky bits of charred wood would go back into the compost for more time to decompose.


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RE: Charred Wood in Compost?

You could. However, in my experience, charcoal in a compost pile takes a very long time to be digested. I have even found bits and pieces of charcoal, several years old, in various planting beds.


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RE: Charred Wood in Compost?

You may want to leave out the ashes though, as they're very alkaline.

Apparently char can be a great addition to soil, the finer the grind the better.


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